National player explains decision
“Emotional alienation”: Hummels open about DFB farewell
October 15, 2025 – 11:06 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The 2014 world champion received a ceremonial farewell at the end of his career with the national team. Looking back, Mats Hummels now makes a remarkable confession.
Mats Hummels commented on his departure from the German national team – and explained why he initially decided against an official farewell. In the podcast show “Copa TS,” the 36-year-old spoke of “emotional alienation” in recent years.
“The last few years have been strange. I haven’t actually played for the national team since 2018,” said Hummels. He was only used at the 2021 European Championships and in two friendly matches in the USA and Austria.
The fact that he said goodbye before the World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in Cologne in September had primarily to do with Rudi Völler. “Rudi is just a great guy. When he called, I said: I’m up for it,” said Hummels. He actually thought that he no longer needed this moment – his time in the DFB jersey was too long ago.
The fan choreography and the feedback from the stadium still touched him. At the same time, Hummels noted that many of the current national players were strangers to him: “When I said goodbye, there were a lot of guys there that I don’t really know and that I’ve never chatted with.”
Hummels played 78 international matches for Germany. He played his last game in a DFB jersey in November 2023. This summer he ended his career at AS Roma. He became German champion five times with Borussia Dortmund (2011, 2012) and FC Bayern (2017, 2018, 2019).